Bretagne (Bruh-tahn-yuh) is how the French say Brittany, the Western region of France that has its own culture and language in addition to that of the French.
At first I didn’t realize they were one and the same thing, Brittany and Bretagne. And I never made the connection between Brittany and Great Britain, until I heard the French term for the United Kingdom, which is la Grande Bretagne.
So England is merely an extension – a larger neighbor, if you will, of it’s French counterpart that lies across the channel. At least that’s what William the Conqueror thought when he decided to have a veni vidi vici. The shared love goes both ways though, if you look at the number of Brits who have decided to take up residence in Bretagne. English is almost a third language and culture in these parts.
Bretagne is lovely. We’ve been coming for a couple of years now, and our entire extended family of in-laws: grandparents, their five sons plus significant others and ten grandchildren all crowd into an eight-bedroom house by the sea for two weeks every July.
Surprisingly, we’re all game to do it again the following year. (One day they’ll let me introduce them to you).
Here are a few things to know about Bretagne.
In Bretagne, you come to spend time with family
and leave with sweet memories.
In Bretagne, the houses are made of stone
and the skies of slate.
In Bretagne, you relieve the summer heat with ice cream
and then bundle up to go to the beach.
In Bretagne, you buy blue lobsters at the market,
and get other things at the market too.
(Are we in France yet?)
In Bretagne, you wear a skirt to play dodge-ball on the sand,
and still outrun your uncles and cousins.
In Bretagne, you head to the beach at night
to watch the fireworks over the water for Bastille Day.
In Bretagne, you go down paths like this
to get to places like this.
In Bretagne, you soar on land
and on sea.
In Bretagne, you watch the thundering surf from high stone walls
carried by wind
and sweet kisses.
We head back tomorrow everyone. See you soon!
What wonderful wonderful photos! LOVE THEM ALL!
I love the pictures too! You have beautiful children!
Just lovely.
My daughter was born on Bastille Day twelve years ago…
and I’ve never been to France.
Someday.
What a wonderful family tradition. How fun! Thanks for the French history lesson. I love the little tidbits you insert into your blogs.
Thank you for the introduction to Bretagne! I also didn’t know it was the same as Brittany.Beautiful photos. Looks like everyone had a wonderful time at the shore.
And I hope that things are going well with your kitchen at home.
Just stumbled on to your blogs- love your pictures, and enoyed the Bretagne post especially. Not sure how you wrote the entire post with not one mention of butter or galettes (crepes), though. They would have been the centerpiece of my story….
Hi Maurine – thanks so much for the visit! You got me on the galettes. I had planned to do a tutorial on how to make them as soon as my kitchen is finished, which is why I didn’t mention them. Now the butter is a different story. I forgot to mention it because I was too busy consuming it (with honey on toast). I do know the best place to get it in Dinard though. 😉
Gorgeous pictures, Lady J! You live in (and visit) the most beautiful places on earth. But you already know that.
Having just spent two weeks there, I can say: YES
I love Bretagne. Spent a summer there taking French classes and eating the best crêpes in the world. Did you try the gâteau breton? Sinfully good! Your pics make me want to go back.
I’ve had the gateau breton in the past but since I can’t eat gluten, it’s been awhile. I’ll have to figure out a gluten-free version of that.
What a lovely picture story! You really captured the spirit of your time there. It made me smile.
I’m not bretonne: I’m from the Morbihan! That’s why I can’t help but tell you to head south next time you visit Brittany. The Morbihan is the least touristy part of Brittany and it’s also where the real crêpes are made. Just sayin’… 😉
Why thank you for that tip! The main reason we are over in the mega touristy area is because we have connections for the housing. But I love Bretagne and am game to explore any part. I’ll keep this in mind.
You would! You’d love it!
My grandmother was from Brittany (Morbihan). When I saw “Bretagne” mentioned on Carole’s blog I had to come and have a look. Nice photos. I really need to go again. At least I know how to do the real crêpes… I had great teachers.
Caroline, I may need to pick your brains as I plan to do a galette making tutorial. I’ll email you when I’m ready to go for it.
You lucky chick! I love it there!
Beautiful! I remember our visit to Bretagne and being impressed by the harbor, where the boats had double keels b/c the tides went out so low the boats had to stand up. The immense beaches…wonderful.